Not quite

I just recently got into underwater photography and recently got in my first day of diving with the new rig in the on the wreck of the Tx Clipper, in the Gulf of Mexico. I'm using Nikon D7000, with Nauticam housing so gear is definitely not an excuse. This was unfortunately my best effort from the day's diving and I'd welcome some thoughts around how it can be improved. Visibility was around 50-60ft. Tokina 10-17 at 10mm, natural light (both strobes turned off) settings ISO200, F8, 1/640th

What I like:
- Sense of depth with the wreck and divers.
- Think I capture peak of action with the bubbles on the diver

What I don't like:

- Sun burst is obviously poorly done. I believe this is most likely due to the fact it was taken at mid-day. I also probably should have adjusted to a smaller aperture to get a better DOF instead of simply adjusting exposure time.

-Overall the image just feels cluttered due to all the bubbles from the divers on the other side of the wreck.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

-E

Attached Images

I think you did a good job with a difficult subject. I agree, I like the sense of depth and the bubbles on the diver on the right. I also agree the photo would be better without the other bubbles, and if the sunburst weren't so over-exposed. Normally I'd say to use a small (f/18 or 22) aperture to expose the sunball, but on a wide-angle shot like this then you'd underexpose the wreck & divers since they're out of strobe range. It's tough!

Some thoughts:
Use a super-wide lens for a close-focus wide-angle shot and use strobes to illuminate your subject (wreck & diver), and then stop down the lens.
Have diver subject wait until the other bubble-blowing divers are out of the way.
Have the diver on the line "swim into" instead of "out of" the frame.
Maybe have the diver on the right holding a dive light which is pointed at the wreck.

Even if your exposure is just right, after about 15 feet of depth the sun just looks like a bright blob. If you get the exposure right, in shallow water the sun ball can exhibit better definition, with sharper 'rays' radiating out. In deeper water, I usually try to avoid the sun as an element for this reason. Just my humble opinion about the aesthetics, of course.

Thank you both. I've done a ton of reading lately and been practicing in the pool a bit lately and realize now the combination of depth, somewhat limited visibility and natural light was just a recipe for disaster. Bums me out, but looking forward to Thailand this November, 5 days on the LOB, I'm bound to get at least 1 decent image...? Back to the pool for some practice shots...